OCEANSIDE, CA—On June 28, a marine with the Combat Logistics Battalion 5, First Marine logistics at Camp Pendleton was arrested by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS). The marine, whose name has not been disclosed, was taken into custody after a missing 14-year-old girl was found in the barracks of the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton.

Reports indicate the child’s grandmother filed a missing person’s report on June 13, several days after the teen ran away.

The victim’s aunt, Cassaundra Perez posted a message on TikTok, indicating her niece, who was raped, and that she “Went Missing,” from her home near Spring Valley on June 10.

“They’re trying to cover it up and place the majority of the blame on her. However, the reality is the whole facility allowed this to happen. The security looked her in the face and allowed this man to bring a minor onto the base, where he proceeded to have sex with her. Due to her age, she could not have given this consent,” Perez stated.

Military Police located the child on base and returned her to the grandmother. NCIS took over the investigation on June 28. The San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force is assisting in the investigation.

This is not the first instance of human trafficking at Camp Pendleton. On July 26, 2019, the Marine Corps Times officials reported that the Naval Criminal Investigative service arrested 16 marines during a battalion formation at the establishment in California.

According their website, Camp Pendleton has a Sexual Assault Awareness division within the base and allocated the month of April as Sexual Assault Awareness month.